Is Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks good for beginner divers?

Yes, partly: 2 of the 11 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Draga Massangana and Marguerite. The others need more experience or a higher certification.

What is the water temperature in Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks?

The water is usually between 27 °C and 28 °C over the year.

What marine life can you see in Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks?

Divers regularly see nurse sharks, turtles, stingrays, barracuda and goliath groupers.

Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks

Diving in Brazil

11 documented dive sites, 2 of them for Open Water divers. Known for nurse sharks, turtles and stingrays.

Best months: Dec–Mar
Water: 27–28 °C
Levels: Open Water, Advanced
Nearest airport: REC

When to go

Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.

Pick a month

Best
Good
Possible
Closed
Not documented yet

Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks in October

Good season

Sea: 28 °C; at the surface
Air: 28 °C; 24 °C at night
Rain: 70 mm; one of the driest months
Wind: 14 km/h; on average

Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.

Operators/PADI give September–May as the season (Dec–Mar, the PADI blog's best months for the Northeast coast, shown as best; Apr–May and Sep–Nov as good). July–August: rough seas, wind and low visibility (shown as possible). June is not described; shown as possible as a precaution.

Source: padi.com

Dive sites in Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks

From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.

Open Water friendly

usual dive down to 18 m2 sites

Wreck

down to 11 m

Draga Massangana

Upturned dredger at around 11 m that sank in 1981 after helping to build the Suape harbour.

Open Water

Wreck

down to 15 m

Marguerite

Shallow 10-15 m wreck of a sediment vessel that sank after two boiler explosions at the exit of the port of Recife.

Open Water

For Advanced divers

usual dive down to 30 m9 sites

Wreck

down to 25 m

Servemar X

Tugboat sunk in 2002 that sits upright in navigation position at 20-25 m and remains very well maintained.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 25 m

Taurus & Virgo

Two tugboats about 20 m apart, usually visited together on one dive around 20 m deep.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 19 m

Galeão São Paulo

Cannons and anchors of an early 17th-century galleon at 19 m, surrounded by corals and many fish.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 29 m

Mercurius

Tugboat sunk on purpose in 2006 for Pernambuco's wreck park, resting at 29 m.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 23 m

Pirapama

A 19th-century steamship wreck at 19-23 m off Recife whose collision with the steamship Bahia is still a mystery; many pieces remain identifiable.

Advanced
Barracuda

Wreck

down to 33 m

Rebocador Marte

Three-deck tugboat sunk in 1997 as an artificial reef, rising from 33 m to 16 m.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 28 m

Saveiros

A purposely sunk tugboat resting upright in navigation position at 28 m, close to the Mercurius and Taurus.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 19 m

Veleiro Yemanjá

Iron sailboat sunk on purpose in May 1999 in front of Pina Beach, lying at 19 m.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 25 m

Batelão de Cima

Advanced

Marine life

When the big encounters happen, month by month.

Reported here, season not documented yet:

Nurse sharks
Turtles
Stingrays
Barracuda
Goliath groupers

Where is Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks?

View on OpenStreetMapLocation: Recife (Wikipedia)Map: Natural Earth

Nearest airport: REC

Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks: frequently asked questions

When is the best time to dive Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks?: The best months to dive Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks are Dec–Mar. Operators/PADI give September–May as the season (Dec–Mar, the PADI blog's best months for the Northeast coast, shown as best; Apr–May and Sep–Nov as good). July–August: rough seas, wind and low visibility (shown as possible). June is not described; shown as possible as a precaution.
Is Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks good for beginner divers?: Yes, partly: 2 of the 11 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Draga Massangana and Marguerite. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
What is the water temperature in Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks?: The water is usually between 27 °C and 28 °C over the year.
What marine life can you see in Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks?: Divers regularly see nurse sharks, turtles, stingrays, barracuda and goliath groupers.
How do you dive Recife & Pernambuco Wrecks?: The nearest airport is REC.

About this page

Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.

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Photo: Sarah Lee on Unsplash

Photo credits

Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash